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Abstract
Background
The prevalence of cancer survivors in Europe continues to escalate, creating a need to develop high-quality oncology rehabilitation services. To do so, it is important to understand the relationship between cancer survivors’ occupational participation and their subjective well-being.
Aim
To examine the association between cancer survivors’ subjective well-being and participation in paid employment, activities of daily living (ADLs) and social engagement.
Methods
This cross-sectional study employed secondary data from the European Social Survey (2014). Data from cancer survivors (n = 2375) across 19 European countries were analysed. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between occupational participation factors and well-being, while controlling for known confounders.
Results
The statistical models explained 26–30% of the variance in cancer survivors’ well-being. Being hampered in ADLs was associated with decreased life-satisfaction, adjusted OR = 0.7 (95% CI: 0.56, 0.86) and increased odds of depression, adjusted OR = 1.4 (95% CI: 1.1, 1.78). Paid employment was associated with increased life-satisfaction adjusted OR = 2.34 (95% CI: 1.61, 3.4). Social engagement was associated with decreased depression adjusted OR = 0.9 (95% CI: 0.81, 0.99). Differences in well-being by gender, age and cancer status were found.
Conclusion
Participation in paid employment, ADLs and social engagement were associated with cancer survivor’s well-being. Research evaluating occupational therapy interventions within oncology rehabilitation should be prioritized.
Acknowledgements
We wish to acknowledge and thank Amy Healy (Mary Immaculate College, Limerick) for her assistance with the application of European Social Survey post-stratification weights.
Disclosure statement
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.